Pawsitively Unnatural: Lab-Grown Meat for Pets Launches in the UK

The UK has become the first country to offer pet treats made with lab-grown meat. Yes, you read that right. While it may feel far away from us, it’s part of a bigger, more troubling push toward synthetic food that could impact what’s on our dinner tables here in America.

 

Meatly, a London-based company, has developed “Chick Bites,” a pet treat product containing 4% cultivated chicken. This marks the first time that consumers in Europe have been able to purchase lab-grown meat, sparking questions about what this means for the future of food—and the impact on traditional agriculture.

 

But what is lab-grown meat? Well, it’s exactly that—meat made in a lab. It begins with the extraction of animal cells (in this case, cells from a chicken egg). These cells are then placed in a steel tank (otherwise known as a bioreactor) and fed water and nutrients to encourage growth. After a few weeks, the cells multiply and form into a protein mass that can eventually be harvested as meat.

 

But let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture.  This product isn’t just about what’s being fed to pets—it’s a calculated step toward normalizing lab-grown meat for human consumption. And at Good Ranchers, we refuse to stand by and let that happen.

The Consequences of Lab-Grown Meat

 

Companies like Meatly are setting the stage for a future where real meat could become a thing of the past. Traditional agriculture supports thousands of hardworking families, upholds time-honored ranching traditions, and sustains local economies. Lab-grown meat is an unnatural, corporate-driven assault on these foundations, replacing real ranching with synthetic production concentrated in the hands of biotech companies rather than independent farmers and ranchers. If cultivated meat gains a foothold in the market, we risk pushing out real ranchers in favor of corporate-controlled food sources that have no roots in the land or the values of hard work and stewardship.

A Fight for Food Freedom & Real Food

 

Countries like Italy and states such as Florida and Alabama have already taken steps to ban lab-grown meat, recognizing the dangers it poses to both food security and cultural traditions. Meanwhile, companies promoting lab-grown alternatives continue to frame their products as “sustainable” while glossing over the real risks—unknown long-term health effects, reliance on biotech monopolies, and the destruction of independent agriculture.

And let’s not ignore the hypocrisy of the so-called “sustainability” argument. A 2023 study by the University of California-Davis found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat is four to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef. Let that sink in: lab grown meat can multiply carbon footprint by 4 to 25 times. This is all because the lab production process requires purifying growth media to pharmaceutical levels, a resource-intensive procedure that could significantly increase global warming potential. So, to claim that lab-grown meat is better for the environment is simply untrue. The manufacturing process is unnatural, industrialized, and disconnected from the soil, the animals, and the people who have dedicated their lives to producing real food.

 

If we allow lab-grown meat to take hold, we are handing over our food supply to corporations who hold no regard to farmers, ranchers, or consumers. Real meat is more than just sustenance; it is part of our heritage, our identity, and our right to choose food that is natural and nutritious.

 

We must not allow this synthetic product to take hold in America. We are a nation built on the backbone of farmers and ranchers who produce real, high-quality meat—not artificial protein concocted in sterile vats. At Good Ranchers, we stand firmly against the push for lab-grown meat and remain committed to supporting American farmers. The future of our food must be rooted in the land, in tradition, and in real, natural nourishment—not in test tubes.

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